publications

What is green building literacy and why does it matter? These pieces advance theoretical tools for defining green building literacy and putting it to use in research and practice.

• Cole, L.B. (2019). Green Building Literacy: advancing a framework for green building education. The International Journal for STEM Education. 6(1), 1-13. doi: 10.1186/s40594-019-0171-6 [5IF=1.46] (free access)

• Cole L.B. (2018). The Teaching Green Building: Five Theoretical Perspectives. In: Leal Filho W., Marans R., Callewaert J. (eds.), Handbook of Sustainability and Social Science Research (pp.107-125). World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham.  

• Cole, L.B. (2014). The Teaching Green School Building: A Framework for Linking Architecture and Environmental Education. Environmental Education Research, 20(6), 836-857. [5IF=1.71]  

• Cole, L.B. (2013). The Green Building as Medium for Environmental Education. The Michigan Journal of Sustainability, 1(1), 161-169.

Can a green school building advance science education for K-12 students? These empirical and theoretical works examine green building literacy in the K-12 context.

•  Cole, L.B., Priscilla, L., Zangori, L., Kania-Gosche, B. & Burken, J. (2024). Raising the Green Roof: Enhancing Youth Water Literacy through Built Environment Education. Sustainability. 16(10), 4262. doi: 10.3390/su16104262  

• Kim J. B., Oprean D, Cole L.B., & Zangori L. (2023). Illumi’s world: A mini-game development with parametric BIM-based simulations. International Journal of Architectural Computing. Advanced Online publication. doi: 10.1177/14780771231180256

• Zangori, L., Otto, S.*, Cole, L.B.,Snyder, R.*, Oertli, R. T.*, Fallahhosseini, S.* (2023). Energy and your environment (EYE): Place-based curriculum unit to empower students’ energy literacy and conservation. In X. Fazio (Ed). Science Curricula for The Anthropocene: Curriculum Models for our Collective Future – Volume II, Palgrave/Springer Nature. 

• Cole, L. B., Fallahhosseini, S., Zangori, L., & Oertli, R. T. (2023). Learnscapes for renewable energy education: An exploration of elementary student understanding of solar energy systems. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(1), e2305. Doi: 10.29333/ijese/13034  

• Cole, L. B., & Hamilton, E. M. (2020). Can a green school building teach? A pre- and post-occupancy evaluation of a teaching green school building. Environment and Behavior, 52(10), 1047–1078. doi: 10.1177/0013916518825283 [5IF=4.40]

• Zangori, L. and Cole L.B. (2019). Assessing the contributions of green building practices to ecological literacy in the elementary classroom: An exploratory study. Environmental Education Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2019.1662372 [5IF=2.26]

• Cole, L.B. and Altenburger, E. (2019). Framing the Teaching Green Building: environmental education through multiple channels in the school environment. Environmental Education Research, 25(11),1654-1673. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1398817 [5IF=1.71]

• Cole, L.B. (2019). School Buildings for Sustainability Education: A Review of the Evidence. Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly. 6(1), 14-25.

• Cole, L.B. (2015). Fostering Green Building Literacy in the School Building: A Study of Five Middle Schools in the United States. Children & Youth Environments, 25(3), 145-174.

• Cole, L.B. (2014). The Teaching Green School Building: A Framework for Linking Architecture and Environmental Education. Environmental Education Research, 20(6), 836-857. [5IF=1.71] 

Can science museums with green buildings be a portal to impactful community-level green building education? This exploratory case study of 8 U.S. science museums seeks to understand how museums with a science education missions use their own green facilities for educational purposes. We uncover strategies used within the building and also analyzed press coverage to understand how the lessons might extend beyond the walls of the museum itself.

• Lindsay, G. & Cole, L.B. (2023). Choosing Green: Rewards and barriers for museums commissioning LEED-certified buildings. The Journal of Green Building. 18(4). 

• Lindsay, G., Cole, L.B., Akturk, A., and Akin, H. (2021). Pressing issues: Setting a sustainability agenda through media coverage of green science museums. Applied Environmental Education Communication. doi: 10.1080/1533015X.2021.1893866

• Cole, L.B., Lindsay, G., Akturk, A. (2020). Communicating sustainability in the green science museum: strategies for informal green building education. 10(2), 149-165 International Journal of Science Education – Part B. doi: 10.1080/21548455.2020.1723182 [5IF=1.25]

How can we enhance sense of place in green buildings? This work seeks to stitch together place theory with features of green buildings to elevate the discourse of place-making in green building design.

• Cole, L.B, Coleman, S., and Scannell, L. (2021). Place attachment and green buildings: Making the connections. The Journal of Environmental Psychology. [5IF=6.07]

• Rojak, D. and Cole, L.B. (2016) Place Attachment in the Historic Brewpub: A Case Study in Greensboro, North Carolina. Journal of Interior Design, 41(1), 33-50. 

How can we improve green building signage? This research proposes a novel model for green building communications that can be used in civic and public buildings to enhance public green building literacy.

•  Hamilton, E. M., Cole, L. B., & Yekita, H. (2024). Building awareness: An evidence-based evaluation of green building signage. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 1-18. 

• Fallahhosseini, S. (2024). Investigation of Middle School Students’ Goal-driven Agency Use in the Process of Engineering Design. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Missouri.

• Aktrurk, A. (2022). Living Buildings as communication tools and informal learning environment for sustainable building education. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Missouri.

• Loraas, D. (2022). Toxic Schools? Teachers perceptions of indoor air quality and negative place attachment. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Missouri.

• Frisz-Conlon, A. (2021). Nomadic learners: An investigation of perceived affordances across formal and informal learning environments. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Missouri. 

• Fallahhosseini, S. (2020). Exploring Elementary Student Energy Literacy Outcomes in the Outdoor Classroom: A Comparative Study [Unpublished master's thesis]. University of Missouri.

Laura Cole Google Scholar Profile here for link to all scholarly publications.